JMRL blog

Central Library’s Brown Baggers discussed Thornton Wilder’s “The Bridge of San Luis Rey” on Sept. 18th.  For most of our readers, it was their first time reading Wilder, who is best known for his play “Our Town”.  Five lives are lost in an Act of God when a bridge collapses in 18th century Peru.  Franciscan […]

On October 2, Books on Tap met at Random Row Brewing to discuss the curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon. Haddon is an English novelist, best known for this book which was written for adults but it also greatly appeals to the young adult crowd. He won the Whitbread Award, […]

Give the gift of reading! Donate new children’s books at your local JMRL branch to share the gift of reading with kids in your community. Please drop off new, unwrapped books for kids from 0 to 12 years old at any JMRL branch from November 1 to December 1, 2025 (hardcover books preferred). Books received […]

November 3-18 JMRL Food for Fines Food Drive Bring an item to the Front Desk of any JMRL location and receive $1 off overdue fines and late renewal fines for each donated item. Accounts in collections and billed items are ineligible for this offer. No fines? Your donations are still greatly appreciated! This will mark […]

Note: blog post written in partnership with Charlottesville Family Magazine Charlottesville and the surrounding Blue Ridge region have long been a haven for storytellers, from nationally known novelists to beloved children’s authors. JMRL’s community is rich with creative voices who bring to life stories that inspire, educate, and delight young readers. For example, Janasha “Jay” […]

CHARLOTTESVILLE, September 30, 2025—The Friends of the Library Fall Book Sale will be held at Albemarle Square Shopping Center (300 Albemarle Square) on Saturday, Oct. 4 through Sunday, Oct. 12, from 10 am – 7 pm each day.  A pre-sale will be held Friday, Oct. 3, from 5 – 7 pm, for members of the Friends […]

September 4 saw another lively meeting as Books on Tap discussed As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. Opinions were split, with some really enjoying the book while others struggled with it. Though even those who enjoyed it admitted that while it is shorter and easier than Faulkner’s other books, it is still hard to […]

The Central Library Brown Baggers enjoyed a lively discussion of “My Antonia” (published 1918) by Willa Cather on Thursday August 21st.  This is the second book by Cather we have discussed with the first being Cather’s final published work (1940), “Sapphira and the Slave Girl”  which we discussed back in May 2024.   Jim, the narrator […]

…After all, what can we ever gain in forever looking back and blaming ourselves if our lives have not turned out quite as we might have wished?” Kazuo Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki Japan in 1954. At the age of 5, his family moved to Britain. His first two novels were set in Japan. But […]

On July 17th, Central Library Brown Baggers discussed Elizabeth Strout’s “Tell Me Everything” , a 2024 Oprah’s Book Club selection and the 5th title in Strout’s “Amgash” series.  (The books in this series all take place in a fictional small town in Maine, and the characters intersect through the different books.)  The books can be […]

JMRL is excited to announce a brand-new collaboration with 106.1 The Corner! Starting this fall, you can catch monthly live broadcasts of The Corner’s midday show, hosted by Samantha Federico and Fievel, broadcasting right from JMRL branches across the region. Each broadcast will run from 10 AM – 12 PM and will feature two exciting […]

Books on Tap met on July 3 to discuss Howards End  by E.M. Forster. Forster, one of the most successful Edwardian English authors, received an astonishing 22 nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Howards End was published in 1910, the fourth of five novels published during Forster’s lifetime.  Reactions to the book were mixed […]

Central Brown Baggers had an uplifting discussion of “The Storied Life of AJ Fikry”  by Gabrielle Zevin on June 12th.  A charming read about a widowed bookstore owner (AJ) whose life is turned around (saved?) thanks to his adoption of Maya, a precocious toddler.  It’s a book (primarily set in a bookstore located on an […]